Melody
by a novelist
Summary: He never did intend to live without her, because what is a song, really, without its melody? Oneshot.


I've been wanting to write this story for a long time. Finally, I got it done.

Hope you all enjoy! Happy holidays, everyone!

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><p>Sometime during their Senior year, she taught him piano.<p>

They were sitting on a firm bench, a piece of music in front of them. As Beck followed the notes on the page, his girlfriend's fingers glided across the keys with ease, the melody of the song filling the room with its beauty.

"I love this song," Tori said. "It's so strong. So powerful. So…so perfect." Without removing her eyes from the sheet music or her hands from the piano, she asked, "Isn't it lovely?"

He nodded in response.

She continued to play. Her eyes never left the page and her fingers never faltered, even as she began to sing.

"_Amazing grace, how sweet the sound  
><em>_That saved a wretch like me  
><em>_I once was lost but now am found  
><em>_Was blind, but now I see  
><em>_Twas grace that taught my heart to fear  
><em>_And grace my fears relieved  
><em>_How precious did that grace appear  
><em>_The hour I first believed."_

He was lost in the sound of her voice. It held so much passion and so much emotion, and he never wanted her to stop. When the last few bars of the song were played and the last few lyrics were spoken, he felt a heavy sense of disappointment. He tried his best to hide it.

She leaned back on the bench and removed her hands from the keys. She smiled at him. "How was it?"

"Amazing," he answered. "Absolutely amazing." He kissed her gently. "It was perfect."

"Mmm…you'd better not just be saying that because this _is_ a final, after all." She nodded toward the piano. "Do you want to try? It's pretty simple once you get a hang of it."

He looked at the piano hesitantly.

Tori rolled her eyes. "Come on. I know you know the notes, and I can help with the rest. Now let's go."

He placed his fingers on the keys and after a moment's hesitation, he began to play. _One, one, two, three and one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three and…_

"You're doing great, babe," she murmured.

_One, two, three, one, two, three…_mentally, he continued to count the rhythms in his head as Tori followed along.

Partway through the song, she stopped him. "If you don't mind," she said, "may I make a suggestion?"

"Absolutely." He stopped playing. "What's up?"

"The melody…you're playing the notes right and everything, but the tempo is taking away from the emotion behind the song. It's holding the song back from its full potential." She picked up a pencil and marked something on the page. "Without the melody, a song is basically nothing more than a series of random notes on a page. It loses its true meaning, its purpose." She set the pencil down. "Let's start at the beginning."

He began to play again, this time at a slightly faster tempo. Soon, the melody of "Amazing Grace" became clear, and its beauty and emotion returned.

Picking up where she had left off, Tori began to sing along with the music. Beck tensed, suddenly feeling distracted by her seemingly angelic voice. He tried so hard to concentrate, but struggled to make it through to the end of the song. He held the last note before letting the sound slowly fade away.

Silence fell heavily in the room.

He had never hated it more.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, she received an acceptance letter to a school in New York City. While she was excited by the opportunity to learn from the best of the best, leaving for New York would mean leaving the only life she had ever known behind. After all of the change that had happened in the past year, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of sadness at the thought of leaving.<p>

Later that night, Beck took her out to a celebratory dinner, although neither of them were in much of a celebratory mood.

"I don't want to leave you," she whispered. She frowned down at her salad as she idly picked at the chopped pieces of lettuce. "If you're in school here and I'm there…ugh, we'll never see each other." She set down her fork. "And long distance relationships hardly ever work."

Beck sighed. He reached across the table and gently placed his hand on hers. "You've got to go," he said. "We can figure out how to make this work later, but you've got to put your career first." He swallowed hard, his fingers tightening slightly over hers. "No matter how hard that may be for both of us."

Tori nodded, but she couldn't quite stop the tears that began to pool in her eyes. She managed a short laugh. "I haven't even left yet and I'm already crying," she said. She impatiently wiped the tears away. "How pathetic is that?"

He shook his head. "It's not pathetic," he replied. He gently caressed her cheek, then leaned over and kissed her. "I love you," he whispered. "No matter what happens, no matter where you are, nothing will ever change that." He leaned back in his chair. "When do you leave?"

She shrugged. "Probably sometime early August."

He managed a small smile. "Then we're going to make the next two months the best we've ever had."

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><p>For the next several weeks, they were practically inseparable. He took her out every night, and she stayed later and later each time. They went to movies, plays, and dinner dates, making sure each date was better than the last. And for the first time, it finally felt as though everything would be all right.<p>

Their last date was spent in his RV. They ordered pizza and ate by candlelight before moving to his bed. Still fully clothed, the young couple lay still in the bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling.

Beck wrapped his arm gently around her and pulled her close. She rested her head on his chest, and he planted a kiss on top of her head. "I love you," he whispered.

She smiled softly and snuggled against him. "I love you, too." She laced her fingers through Beck's. "Can you believe this is it?"

"I wish it wasn't." He rolled onto his side so he was facing her. "I wish we could stay like this forever. It just seems so right, having you here." He caressed her cheek. "I can't imagine anything else."

She released a jagged breath. "I'm going to miss you," she said softly. "I just hope we can make this work."

"We will. I promise, we will." He gave her a quick kiss before glancing at the clock. "When do you have to be back? Or do you have to go back tonight?"

She rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. "Unfortunately, because I'm still under my parents' roof, I'm supposed to be back by midnight."

Beck smirked "Hm…we might have an issue there," he replied, nodding toward the clock. "It's past one already."

She groaned, pushing herself up to a sitting position. "My parents are going to kill me," she muttered. "I've got to go." She began to crawl out of bed, but he suddenly grabbed her arm. Startled, she turned back. She found herself staring into her favorite pair of dark eyes.

"Stay," he said. "Stay just tonight."

She sighed. "Beck…"

He stood and took her in his arms. "Just one night," he said softly. "Please."

She shook her head slowly. "I can't," she whispered. "I'm sorry, but I just – I can't." She gave him a quick kiss. "You're taking me to the airport, right?"

He nodded. "Noon, right? Pick you up at quarter 'til?"

"Sounds good." She offered a weak smile and reached for the door. "See you tomorrow."

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><p>He couldn't sleep that night. Throughout the evening, memories of their time together ran through his mind. He tossed and turned but never quite managed to fall into a decent sleep.<p>

Four months. Four months without seeing her. Four months without holding her in his arms, and four months before he would hear her voice as it was the afternoon they had shared together several weeks before. He sighed as something she had told him – something she had tried to teach him – came back to him.

"_Without the melody, a song is basically nothing more than a series of random notes on a page. It loses its true meaning, its purpose."_

He realized then that life without her would never be the same.

* * *

><p>"You're <em>sure<em> that you have everything packed?"

Tori rolled her eyes and slammed the back of the truck closed. "Everything's packed and loaded, Mom," she said. She sighed and stepped closer to her parents. "I guess this is it for now."

Holly nodded once. "It is," she whispered. She released a shaky breath before tearfully embracing her daughter for the last time. "I'll miss you," she said. She pulled away. "We'll both miss you," she added, briefly glancing at her husband. "And you're always welcome to visit."

Tori smiled. "I'll remember that," she replied. She picked up her purse and the last remaining duffle bag. "I'll call you as soon as I land, alright?"

David nodded in response. "Be careful," he said. "Be safe. I love you." He smiled. "We all love you. I just hope you remember that."

Her smile faltered for the first time. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she softly replied, "I will. I always will."

* * *

><p>They never made it to the airport.<p>

There was a bright light and the sound of crunching metal. Then, nothing.

When Beck finally came to, he was nearly blinded by flashing lights of blue and red. He blinked several times, trying to make it all go away, but without success. Finally, he gave up and instead tried with all he had in him to remember what had just happened.

He was lying on pavement, surrounded by cold hands and frantic voices. His entire body ached miserably; the pain was quickly becoming unbearable. He was surrounded by shards of glass and pieces of metal that had strayed from the scene of the crash.

Several yards away, their car remained overturned in the center median, forced off the road by a drunk driver. Rescue workers surrounded the car, working furiously to remove part of the crumpled metal to free his girlfriend from the wreckage.

_No. No, no, no, this isn't happening,_ his mind screamed. _Please, God, let her be alright._

Emergency workers were working around him, but his terror-filled eyes remained on the car. He prayed and prayed and prayed harder than ever before that she had somehow, someway survived.

But several minutes later, as they pulled her frail, limp body from the car, he knew without a doubt that she was gone.

And his entire world came crashing down.

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><p>He was taken by Life Flight to the nearest hospital, where only an hour later, he was declared comatose and one tiny step away from brain dead.<p>

"He'll be lucky to make it through the night," a doctor sadly told his terrified parents. "It will take nothing short of a miracle for him to wake up from this."

Both family and friends were allowed to visit because of his condition. A small crowd formed in the ICU that evening, standing around his bruised and broken body.

"I can't believe this is happening," Andre murmured. "To lose two friends in less than twenty-four hours just doesn't seem right."

Beck's mother gently took her son's hand. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as she said, "He could still pull through. Miracles happen every day. He could wake up from this."

But Robbie shook his head slowly. "He doesn't want to," he said softly. "You know he doesn't want to." He looked down at the floor and shoved his hands in his pockets. "The paramedics said he was alert even right after the accident. He has to know she's gone."

Jade took a seat beside the bed. "He's right." She sighed and bit her lip thoughtfully. "I hate to admit it, but he loved her so much. Everyone could see it, just by the way his eyes lit up when he saw her. He was different around her. He was so happy." She shrugged. "I just don't think he has the willpower to get through this."

Beck's mother sighed heavily. "It's in God's Hands now."

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><p>Everyone spent the night at the hospital that night. The waiting room was crowded with teenagers sprawled out on the floor and adults curled up in chairs. Only Beck's parents remained awake.<p>

At fifteen to two late that night, Beck was taken back to the emergency room after his heart stopped.

The group moved from one waiting room to another. They waited and waited and waited until finally, at two-thirty that night, a somber-faced doctor walked into the room. No words had to be spoken, but they knew that he was gone.

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><p>It was what he wanted - they all knew that for sure. He had lost the melody to his song that night. What was a song, really, without its melody?<p> 


End file.
